Artists Anne-Marie Culhane and Paul Conneally conceived and led the first ever renga ramble - renga on the move - walking through the urban streets of Sheffield to its urban edge. It forms part of Culhane's wider Grow Sheffield work and Conneally's psychogeographic explorations of urban and other spaces through walking and poetry - haikai poetry/art - japanese renga and haiku poetry.

The Grow Sheffield Renga Ramble formed part of Sheffield's festival of reading and writing 'Off the Shelf' 2007.

Culhane & Conneally came up with the concept of 'renga ramble' and started to explore it first in summer 2007. This unedited video footage shows the participants reading the finished renga immeadiatly on completion in the Crookes Quarry allotment of organic gardening guru Richard Clare.

OFF THE SHELF / GROW SHEFFIELD RENGA RAMBLE A Circle of Fire A twelve tone Junicho Renga Ramble in the season of autumn From Weston Park Museum to and on Crookes Quarry Allotments, Sheffield, 13th October 2007. Below is the final text which differs slightly from the recording which was made in the raw directly on completion of the renga process in the allotment space.

this misty morning
a scattering of beech nuts
on the damp footpath

a circle of fire
choosing the middle way

comfort fusion cooking
Hing Wah's fish and chips
ready to rumble!

skips piled high with stuff
just ripe for recycling

beer tainted
under a winter moon
fag stubs erect

slow golfing
over house clad hills

I'm like a rubber ball
I keep bouncing
back to you

loving hands tend myrtle
olive, soft purple plums

cherry coke
in a greenhouse
an amazing view

the 21st century
spreadeagled

Shakespeare's not here
but prunus is
I piss on the earth

dew licks my steps
fresh grown grass

Nine Poets:

Paul Conneally (master poet) Anne-Marie Culhane (host poet) Felicity Stout Nadine Wills Joseph Conneally Vanessa Senger Jenny Laird Andrea Allsopp Su Walker

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